I am a recovering nag. I think I should just get that out here at the very beginning. I am a nag by nature (or at least I’ve been one for so long I do not know if it is “nature” but it has become ingrained with who I am), but I’m working on it. I acknowledge that I have a problem and I’m on it. Or, at least, I’m trying to be on top of it. I’m trying to release on the need to remind…
Part of my problem is that I am impatient. It’s hard for me to wait for kids to get around to doing things I’ve asked them to do or remember to do the tasks or activities I’ve already reminded them to. Another part of the problem is that I have actually gotten “burned” enough times to have a really hard time believing that I WON’T get stuck with things that other people (mainly, my kids) were supposed to do and didn’t. And, the other part of my nagging problem is that I do forget what I’ve already said and after I’ve asked my child if she’s done her homework three times, she finally lets me know that I’m nagging—but I’ve forgotten I actually asked the first two times!
I have some self-awareness about the whole issue. I know that I don’t like being pestered and nagged about things—which is probably one of the chief reasons that I am NOT prone to procrastinate and tend to do things early, so I won’t need to be reminded. Not always…but often. I definitely don’t want my kids to remember me or think of me as a big ‘ole nag—so I’m trying to say less and really watch “how” I go about saying what I do say.
See Also: Letting Go of the Need to Always Be Right and The Three Cs of Effective Communication